Both activity providers and activity participants desire efficient and accurate means for paying for activities. For example, golfers usually must pay in advance at a clubhouse for a round of golf. However, in this scenario the golfer may be subjected to a long line at the clubhouse counter prior to paying for their round of golf. In addition, paying in advance is somewhat problematic if the golfer ultimately decides while playing that they would prefer to less than a full round (e.g., nine holes as opposed to eighteen holes) or more than one round (e.g., thirty-six holes as opposed to eighteen holes). Since the golfer pays in advance, if he or she decides to play less than a full round they are being overcharged for the activity provided. In the event they choose to play more than one round the golfer either needs to pay again at the clubhouse (a time-consuming endeavor) or forego paying again at the expense of the golf course.
Other activities which are charged on a time-rate basis, such as an hourly rate or the like, may not provide the activity participant many options if they desire to participant in an activity for less time than the time-rate allows (e.g., participate for 45 minutes while being charged for a full hour) or participant for portions of time periods (e.g., participate for 1.25 hours while being charged for a full two hours). In the event that the activity provider does provide for charging participants based on prorated time periods, difficulty may exist in accurately tracking the time of the participants, especially during periods of high activity. Such time-rate charging for activities often results in disputes between the activity provider and the participant over how the exact amount of time participated. While the participant may have enjoyed the activity if they ultimately believe that they were charged an excessive rate for the activity, they are unlikely to return and participant in the activity again.
Therefore, a need exists to create new ways for activity providers to allow activity participants to pay for activities. The desired systems and methodologies should allow for automated payment that circumvents the need for the activity participant to wait in line to make payment. In addition, the desired systems and methodologies should eliminate the need to pay for the entire activity in advance and should provide for an accurate and automated assessment of how much of the activity the participant participated in so that the participant is ultimately charged accurately for the activity.